The simple truth is that people can either make it or break it. There’s little in between. I believe in friendship at first sight. With some people you hit off right away. And with some you just don’t and never, alright never say never, really will.
At my arrival in Vietnam the first person I met was Aurore. I jumped into her just driving taxi at a whim and asked her if she was going to the backpackers area. She was and we ended up sharing a room and spending that evening and day after together. Then she was meeting up with her 15 year older, ex-lover, so we went our own ways. She works for an NGO in Cambodia though so we’ll surely meet again.
Then somehow I ended up spending the next evening with three African footballers. It was hilarious but exhausting, ’cause their accent makes their English is so hard to follow. And thanks to a character of a guy I met earlier in a restaurant, I was with a mad group of Irish, English and Americans armed with face paint on Halloween. So obviously I had no choice but to become a glittery butterfly. From then I met up with this bunch, an ever changing bunch, up until I left Saigon.
The next person I certainly ought to tell you about is Julia. I have probably spend no more than 4 hours with her, but she was the perfect example of someone I hit off with straight away. We talked over pho, Vietnamese noodle soup, about Vietnamese, the communist government, everything really I had been wanting to discuss ever since I came to this country. And she had answers, having been teaching German at a university in Ho Chi Minh City for over a month. Now pho restaurants, I have found, are funnily enough a great place to meet people. For instance in the one I ate in the Mekong Delta, a well travelled and fluently English speaking Vietnamese girl sat down at my plastic table and wouldn’t leave without leaving me her email so that I could contact her over any questions I had about Vietnam. Adorable.
In Dalat, the former French mountain retreat, I had lunch at this little restaurant renowned not so much for it’s food as for it’s owner, and I left without paying. Tu Anh’s childlike eagerness to please her customers went so far that she would let me spend my last money on her friends books leaving her with nothing more than my word that I would be back that evening. Honest as I am, I did come back to try her chilli con carne (nothing like dad’s sadly) and met two Irish girls and a Welsh lad. Two spanish guys joined in, but they didn’t come much further than sitting by and saying yeah yeah to everything. Anyway we went to this bar, the 100 roofs cafe. An architectural masterpiece. I’ll leave it at that, because no matter what else I say, it wouldn’t serve it right. Just if you ever go to Da Lat, don’t miss it! Okay, I can’t help it, I’ve got to give you some idea. The place has these little hidden corners everywhere and naturally my party couldn’t resist the temptation to hide themselves before I came back from the restroom. Very funny. Now one of the Irish warmly recommended me an easy rider tour. So that’s what I am doing right this moment. I am on a three day motorbike trip from Da Lat to Nha Trang,in the mountains off the beaten track with a guide/driver. I will hopefully see the Irish girl and the Welsh guy again in Blijburg. They have this band, with Jack Johnson like music (or so they say), and wanted to know where they should/could try to play in Holland. So who knows an Irish band might come around stealing our hearts this summer…
Yesterday a few Australian guys kept me company and speaking of Australians, Christie, who was with me and Carly in Pai (Thailand) also certainly is someone I’d like to mention. She teaches both English and philosophy back home. She would willingly be my walking dictionnary. So I learned a lot of English (hey I must give some thought to my future at ucm huh) thanks to her and we had great conversations including philosophy in everything we discussed.
I am not sure why I’m so keen on writing this. Perhaps because some of you want me to tell you more about what I am doing and who I’m meeting. Maybe because I don’t want you to think that I’m really alone here. Or possibly just to remind myself, whenever I’m down, how much good company I’ve already had. I just need to let go.
Love,
lot
PS: Hoe gaat het met de Sinterklaas voorbereidingen?